Lubricator.



D. F. KILGOUR LUBRIGATOR.

APPLICATION IILBD 111111.22, 1913.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

7 E S E 5 E Inv/enva?,-

Wzesqses:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

DWIGHT F. KILGOUR, OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LUBRICATOR.

To all 'whom t may conce/m Be it known that I, DWIGHT F. KILGOUR, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Lubricators, of

which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to lubricators for the guide rails of elevator shafts, and for other purposes.

The character of the invention may be best understood by reference to the following description of an illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of an illustrative lubricator shown herein as embodying the invention and a section of an elevator guide and rail cooperating therewith; and Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the lubricator shown in Fig. l.

Referring to the drawing, l designates a guide rail of an elevator shaft having cooperating therewith a spring pressed guide shoe 3 supported by a standard 5 connected to the top 7 of an elevator.

The illustrative lubricator embodying the invention comprises a receiver 9 conveniently of cylindrical form and preferably of greater height than diameter. To permit the filling of the receiver with oil or other lubricating material it is provided at its top with an inlet ll having a swinging lid 13 pivotally mounted thereon.

Adjacent the upper end of one side of the lubricator is a sho-rt boss 15 having a neck 17 removably secured thereto by screws '19 entered through wings projecting from said neck. A wick 21 is introduced into said neck and is adj ustably retained therein by a holding screw Q3 threaded into a knob on said neck and readily vertically adjustable to compact the wick fibers more or less to regulate or vary the feed of the lubricant as desired. The wick of sutlicient extent to extend from the neck to the bottom of the receiver in order to feed substantially the entire contents of the receiver 'therefrom In making the wick neck removable other necks may readily be substituted therefor` as desired.

The lubricator oil is drawn by capillary Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 22, 1913.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

Serial No. 756,083.

attraction up through the wick to the guide rail. As the elevator moves up and down the rail the wick wipes along the latter and the oil is drawn by capillary attraction from the wick t0 the rail.

lt is of the greatest importance that eX- actly the proper amount of lubricant should be fed to the rail. If the wick is pressed too forcibly toward the rail the fibers thereof will be unduly compacted and retard or prevent the proper capillary feeding action therethrough.

An important feature of the invention relates to means for maintaining the wick in engagement with the guide rail with a proper or desired nicety of pressure to insure the effective and proper feeding of the right amount of lubricant to the rail. To this end the lower end of the receiver is provided with a fulcrum lug 25 depending therefrom into a slot in a bracket 27 secured to the guide slice 3 referred to. The receiver lug is pivotally connected to said bracket by a bolt 29 projecting through said lug and bracket. To permit the receiver to rock to cause its wick to be pressed into light engaging con tact with the elevator rail the fulcrum lug 25 is offset slightly from the center of gravity of the receiver.

In the course of the rapid travel of the lubricator alo-ng the rail there may be a tendency to cause the lubricator to bound away from the rail. A gravity pressure suiiiciently strong to prevent this bounding away from the rail would be too great to permit the proper capillary action of the wick on the rail. It is necessary, therefore, to provide means for automatically returning the lubricator to the rail in case it bounds out of contact with the latter. To this end stop means is provided typified herein as a leaf spring 3l projecting from the bracket 2T up along the side of the receiver opposite to the rail. Preferably this stop sho-nld not engage the receiver when the wick of the latter is in contact with the rail, but should be available to return the receiver to its normal position in case it bounds therefrom. By this arrangement of gravity and resilient stop control the lubricator wick is maintained in proper capillary feeding contact with the rail. When the elevator is stationary there is also a tendency for the lubricant to be fed by capillary action to the rail. If the elevator is to be idle for a considerable length of time, such for example as over Sunday, it is desirable that the Wick should be held out of contact with therail. Otherwise, an excess of lubricant is fed to the rail and is liable to drip therefrom into the elevator and damage the garments of passengers therein. To hold the receiver in position with its Wick out of contact with the rail at such times there may be provided a cam Wing 33 on a shaft 35 mounted in the bracket i7 and controlled byV a handle 37. Vhen in the position shown in Fig. l this cam Wing is out of contact with the receiver and permits the latter to rock by gravity to present its Wick into contact with the rail. hen; however; this wing is turned to its position shovvn in dotted lines in said figure the receiver is rocked away from the rail and its Wick is out of contact with the latter. The wing when thus rocked moves'beyond its dead center into engagement with a stop 34 in the slot in the bracket and the spring in pressing against the receiver holds the saidwing against said stop. When it is desired to return the receiver to operative position it is merely necessary to release the cam wing from the receiver. Then the receiver Will be tilted by the spring 31 automatically to its operative position.

It Will be observed that the lubricator is mounted on the guide shoe and not directly on the elevator. This is an advantageous feature since the shoe is maintained by its spring in continuous close engagement With the rail and there is no relative movement between the tvvo such as would tend to rock or move the lubricator out of engagement with the rail. This facilitates the mounting of the lubricator on its pivot With its center of gravity offset just suiiciently to give or impart to the lubricator the correct amount of pressure for the desired feeding action. If, on the other hand, the lubricator were mounted directly on the elevator it would be subjected to all of the vibration and disturbance caused by relative movement between the elevator and its rail.

The lubricator described is extremely simple in construction and operation and serves effectively to feed a proper amount of lubricant to the guide to insure the most economical and best Working conditions.

While the lubricator is shovvn herein as applied to an elevator, it Will be understood that it may be employed for other uses as desired.

Having described one illustrative embodiment of the invention without limiting the same thereto; What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A lubricator comprising, in combination, a receiver; a Wick for feeding lubricant from said receiver to a member to be lubricated; a bracket; means pivotally connecting said receiver to said bracket at a point slightly offset from the center of tion,

gravity of the receiver for causing the latter to tilt and press its Wick into light contact With said member; and means for automatically returning said receiver toward said member on the bounding of said receiver away from said member.

2. A lubricator comprising. in combina tion; a receiver; a Wick for feeding lubricant from said receiver; a bracket; means pivotally connecting said receiver to said bracket at a point slightly offset from the center of gravity of the receiver for causing the latter to tilt and press its Wick into light capillary contact With a member to be lubricated; and means adjustable to hold said receiver with its Wick out of contact with said member.

3. A lubricator comprising; in combination; a receiver having a Wick for feeding lubricant therefrom; a support, means pivotally connecting said receiver to said support at a point slightly offset from the center of gravity of the receiver for causing the latter automatically to tilt and press its Wick into contact With a member to be lubricated, a stop, and adjustable means for holding said receiver against said stop with its Wick out of contact with said member.

a. A lubricator comprising, in combination, a receiver having a Wick for feeding lubricant therefrom, a support, means pivotally connecting said receiver to said support at a point slightly offset from the center of gravity of the receiver for causing the latter automatically to tilt and press its Wick into contact with a member to be lubricated, a spring stop and means coperatingtherewith for holding said receiver invan inoperative position.

5. A lubricator comprising, in combination, a receiver having a Wick for feeding lubricant therefrom; means supporting said receiver at a point slightly offset from the center of gravity of said receiver for causing the latter to tilt and press its Wick into contact with a member to be lubricated; a stop and a rocking element movable beyond a dead center position into engagement with said stop for holding said receiver in a position for preventing contact of its Wick with said member.

6. A lubricator comprising, in combination; a receiver having a Wick for feeding lubricant therefrom, a support; means pivotally connecting said receiver to said support at a point slightly oHset from the cen` ter of gravity of the receiver and beneath the latter for causing the receiver automatically to tilt and press its Wick into contact with a member to be lubricated, and means coperating with said Wick for regulating the feed of the lubricant therethrough.

7. A lubricator comprising; in combinaa receiver, a neck for said receiver, a

DVIGHT F. KILGOUR.

Wick proj ectng from the interior of said receiver through said neck for conducting lubricant to a member to be lubricated, a support for Said receiver and means pv-v I otally connecting said receiver to saicl support at a point slightly offset from the center of gravity of said receiver and beneath the lower end of said receiver for causing the latter automatically to tilt and maintain Witnesses z HENRY T. "WILLIAMS, LOUIS A. JONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents` each, by addressing the Commissioner o! Patents. Washington. D. C." 

